"Let us look at what it is like to play competitively. A competitive game, to me, is a debate. You argue your points with your opponent, and he argues his. 'I think this series of moves is optimal,' you say, and he retorts, 'Not when you take this into account.' Debates in real life are highly subjective, but in games we can be absolutely sure who the winner is.

"The conflict is between the players; the game itself is merely the medium - the language - of the debate. The game must be expressive enough to allow the debaters to articulate complex thoughts. A skilled debater knows the nuances of the language and common tricks and traps of language he can use against untested opponents, but the language is only his tool. Once he learns the theory of debate, he can apply it to any language. It is common to focus entirely on learning nuances of a language at the expense of gaining a real understanding of how debate should be conducted."